In the Hearts of Men
by raienetta
Summary: Excaliber has been discovered, by Muggle archaeologists. Morgana Pendragon has caused the Once and Future King to rise. Merlin has been called to help a boy named Harry Potter defeat a wizard who is harming the world. And the Great Dragon is used for a tournament where he is believed to be a feeble-minded wyvern (also available on Wattpad).
1. Chapter 1

An old man leant against the window. He knew that he was different from those around him. His hair had not grown grey, nor had his skin become any less smooth. The only part of him that had aged were his eyes. They possessed years of wisdom and revealed stories of bitter regret.

Tiredly, he sat on the couch. He was so very, very old, yet still, his raven hair fell in front of his face when he put it in his hands. The weather had been dreadful as of late; Small droplets of water trickled from his hair onto the white carpet.

In the past two months, secrets which he had delicately buried had been brought back into the light. _His_ sword had been found, dug up from the lake by archeologists. It had been covered in algae, the grip dissolved which left the tang visible and the metal slippery.

After that, they had approached him for permission to survey his land. He had inspected their documentation with a fine tooth comb and a magnifying glass trying to find any reason for which he could refuse. Unfortunately, he was unable to and had regretfully signed.

On the third day of surveying the land-the fifth week of the whole project-they had found something of interest. After debating whether he should give them permission, he had yielded. A dig was to commence come Monday.

"Sir," A voice interrupted his thoughts, the floo having lit up. Probably Victor down in reception, "The lights are going out all over Britan,"

"I know,"

 _How could he not?_

A hand tugged his pant leg, as large doe eyes looked at the ground. Janne, one of the younger children, stood with Bessie in her sling.

"Light's off," she whispered.

Looking around, he realised that she was right. The orbs which normally glowed a dull blue had faded, leaving the building in the dark. He hadn't noticed it before when he was thinking but now, he felt it; the Triple Goddess calling for power as she cracked.

He careful bent down, lifting Janne into his arms. He was part way through the walk back to the rooms when he felt power beginning to swell around her. Looking down, he realised that she had fallen asleep, her head rested on his shoulder and a fist clutching his shirt.

Sliding down the wall as smoothly as he could, he felt Janee whimper into his shirt. Let me in, She commanded, all must see. Opening his mind, he felt him magic leave him. Realising what she was doing, he pulled Janne closer.

The Goddess had not produced a seer for old magic for at least half a century. Merlin had begun to understand in about half that time, his magic was too raw for modern spell-casters and burnt their cores. For the goddess to release a vision now...

Merlin panted as the vision ended. Careful he stood up and took Janne, who was still sleeping, to her room. Tucking her in, he created more orbs which then drifted into their places.

Creating another orb he walked into his room and went to bed. The rain had not stopped, the sound of it hitting the window was constant and with the help of the light lulled him to sleep.

When Merlin felt the sunlight on his face, he quietly woke and slipped out of bed. Checking on the children, he watched as they slept. He had seen so many of these children living on the streets, most were orphans, but some, like Janee, had been left by their parents.

All over the world, Merlin had been able to set up houses like this. They took in the poor and those living on the streets, no matter their age or gender and helped care for them. The homes were all provided by public contributions.

When he first began to build, nobody had wanted to help, so he had used the money he collected from his business. It had taken a speech by the monarch of that time to get even the first people to help, from there it has grown to what it is now; fourteen houses, four schools and twenty-three hundred jobs.

Walking down the stairs, Merlin began to make breakfast. Most of the adults had slept in today as it was Saturday, although he did pass one or two in the halls. Walking into the kitchen Merlin took out three pans. He had almost begun to make eggs before realising that they had decided on doing Pancake Saturday as he was leaving for the site tomorrow.

The kitchen was at the top of the stairs, far enough away that any chatting could not be heard clearly. So when Merlin turned around to see Calien rubbing his eyes tiredly while sitting on a stool, he jumped.

Calien was one of the older boys at age 10 and likely going to receive a Hogwarts letter after he turned 11, like most of those living here. He placed a basic preservation charm on the stack-once he had put them on the plate-and handed them to Calien to place on the table.

After, the boy stood next to Merlin who summoned a stool for him to stand on. Letting his magic cook the pancakes he helped Calien cut the fruit. Anette came into the kitchen and kicked Merlin out saying that he and Calien should wake up the other children.

She was one of the three adults that Merlin had employed to look after the children when he could not. She was a kind woman who reminded him of his deceased friend, Gwen.

Merlin knew that he would have to stay longer if they found something and would not be able to the kids to Diagon Alley. Hoping that didn't happen, he smiled at her as he left the kitchen.


	2. Chapter 2

Not for the first time, Harry knelt in the grass, water soaking his knees and rain splashing against his head. The weather had been horrid since he had left King's Cross with the Dursleys. They had — in the periods which the rain calmed — forced him to tend to the sludge which Aunt Petunia had once called a flowerbed.

Harry blamed this all on Dumbledore who was the cause of Harry was staying at the Dursleys rather than with Sirius, his godfather.

Harry didn't like Dumbledore. It was a fact. He believed that the old man was an evil, manipulative, coot and had added this as a reason for his ever-growing 'Reasons why I hate Albus to-many-names Dumbledore' list.

"Boy, Inside now!" Uncle Vernon called from the house. Harry clambered to the door, glad to be out of the rain. A beefy finger pointed to upstairs, Harry quickly obeyed.

The mud that Harry had carried through the house did not go unnoticed and beefy feet pounded behind the boy as they followed Harry up the stairs.

Slamming open the door to Harry's room, he pointed to the floor, "What is this, Freak?!"

Harry looked down.

"Mud, Sir," He said, growling the honorary.

"Exactly!" Vernon snarled, pulling his belt from his pant loops, a grin made its way onto his face, "It seems I'll be tainting my hands before lunch,"

After struggling with Harry he had the boy pinned face first to the floor. He used the leather to create red streaks on his back.

When Harry could feel the heat radiating from where the belt had hit him, it stopped and Uncle Vernon spoke.

"Clean up your mess and ask Pet what to make for dinner. I have very important guests coming tonight and if you mess this up with your freakishness..." Uncle Vernon stomping on his already bruised stomach warned Harry more than any words.

Having kicked Harry's weak form once more, Vernon waddle down the stairs. Painfully, Harry stood up and hobbled to the bathroom. Grabbing a semiflexible scrub brush and a bucket he began to scrub the floor.

Harry was throwing the dirty water out the back door when the car pulled into the driveway. Dudley and Aunt Petunia came into the house under a rainbow umbrella.

Dudley went upstairs while Petunia took a seat in the kitchen.

"Get the groceries out of the car," She demanded when she saw him. Harry put the bucket down and walked back into the rain.

When all of the bags were inside and the groceries put away, Harry looked over to Petunia who had been watching so that he would not be able to nick anything.

"By 6 on the dot, you will have made sushi with mayo, salmon, avocado and a side of wasabi, muscles with pasta and tomato sauce and a pannacotta and jaffa mousse. Make it look sophisticated," She said leaving.

"Yes, Aunt Petunia," Harry said turning around and removing the required ingredients.

It was sometime later that Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia and Dudley came downstairs. They were well groomed and had Uncle Vernon making them repeat scenarios which would happen when the guests arrived. Harry was putting away the equipment that he used and had the food laid out on the bench.

"Up to your room, Boy, they should be here soon," Said Vernon with a greedy grin on his face. Harry, not willing to waste his time to be alone, basically bolted up the stairs.

Closing the door, he lifted the floorboard and took out the book which he had borrowed from the library. Sitting down on the desk he began to write the summer essay that he had been given.

"Settling on the bed, he saw Hedwig together by the windowsill. A sharp whistle and she ended up coming to him.

Three sharp knocks rapped on the door downstairs, and a lock clicked open. Harry supposed that the murmured sounds belonged to the guests and so picked up the tome. Opening it to the parchment he was using as a bookmark lay, he began to read.

 _Dragons, often mistaken for their descendant the Wyvern, were powerful creatures able to obliterate large armies and kingdoms. They were often described as almost invincible creatures who could only be humbled by Dragonlords. According to the Old Religion, Dragonlords are brothers to dragons, connected through their souls. Accounts of the Dragon can be found leading into the beginning of the 10th c. after which accounts cease to exist._

 _It is known that Dragons procreate by laying eggs. These eggs remain viable for more than thousand years, but their special bond with Dragonlords is such that dragon eggs cannot hatch without them. They did this by calling the unborn dragons into existence by naming the egg's occupant._

 _During the Great Purge, King Uther Pendragon, father to King Arthur Pendragon, had all the dragons killed. He then tricked a Dragonlord named Balinor into bringing him the Great Dragon under the guise of wanting to make peace. Instead, King Uther imprisoned the dragon beneath Camelot and then had all the Dragonlords rounded up and slaughtered._

 _Compared to wyverns, dragons were almost three times as large. Often they have golden eyes but a number are known to have had blue eyes. They were known to have scales of varying colours covering their bodies, these scales were impenetrable by magic spells and mortal weapons. While such a thing as white dragons exists, their birth was a very rare occurrence and the last known white dragon was hatched by the wizard Merlin. This dragon was then used as a weapon by Morgan le Fay, during the Battle of Camlann._

 _Dragons have many abilities due to being creatures of magic. Such ability includes, but is not limited to, breathing fire and flying for long period of time without tiring, being able to communicate in the human tongue after exposure to it for prolonged periods of time, and being a powerful and almost indestructible enemy in combat, as a single dragon is able to ravage a city within weeks._

 _In addition to being virtually unbeatable, Dragons had the power to transmit spells from their thoughts into another persons mind and they could use their fire to fill weapons with magic giving it great power. They also had healing and likely foresee powers, the extent of which is not fully known, as a dragon's breath had the ability to bring back to life a fallen person or someone who is in a near-death situation._

Harry slammed the book closed when he heard the door open. His body was tense and his grip was most likely bending the tome.

"Pardon, I was mistakenly informed..."A familiar voice trailed off.

Harry turned to face the boy and properly toppled off the bed with a straggled, " _You!_ "


	3. Chapter 3

It was late afternoon when Draco Malfoy stood, waiting for his father in the Entrance Hall. On the hand fixing the button of his black blazer, rest the Malfoy family ring.

Brushing the imaginary dust of the blazer, he pulled down a similarly coloured blouse. A silver pin rest on the left lapel complimenting his hair which lacked the gel that normally styled it.

As Narcissa Malfoy glided down the stairs but stopped when she saw he son doing this, "Draconis, how many times must we reiterate? Do not fiddle with your clothing,"

"None, Mother. I merely find the fabric of this outfit to be harsh on the skin,"

"One could never hope to find decent fabric in their vicinity," Narcissa twirled her hand and, with her wand now out, spelled the fabric. Draco expressed his satisfaction, by tugging the cuffs nonchalantly.

"Father," Draco addressed Lucius who was now escorting his wife down the stairs. Draco received a nod in recognition when his father passed him, and he joined in step.

The family passed by a house elf who handed them each an overcoat before they were seated in the black limousine.

The drive from Wiltshire to Surrey took almost two hours and by the time they had arrived Draco had begun to feel claustrophobic.

The driver, once they had arrived, opened the door for Lucius who then helped Narcissa out. Her dress brushed along the ground but did not catch any mud.

As Draco came out he could feel the stares of the Muggles from the surrounding houses. The rows of identical houses, which each had perfectly manicured grass and white picket fences, set next to each other made him wonder whether Muggles understood the concept of standing out.

"Come along, Draco," His mother called.

Standing taller, Draco strode to the door, looking all the while as regal as a Malfoy should. His father knocked sharply on the door.

The sound of the lock unlatching warned of the door opening. A fat Muggle male greater him at the door.

"Mister Malfoy, please do come in," He said, stepping back from the door, "Mrs Malfoy, you are looking absolutely stunning today,"

The time before they sat at the table was very boring, In the moments before Lucius had taken it upon himself to discuss business, Mr and Mrs Dursley would not stop praising his parents. Their fat son had mentioned the dress sense that they all seemed to have, although he did not shower them in compliments.

Having grown bored with the conversation in front of him, he waited until his mother looked at him before inclining his head towards the clock.

"Mrs Dursley, I was wondering if we may begin eating. My family and I only recently arrived back from France and wish to assess the esteem at which we heard about your cooking,"

"Of course, it's just through here," Mrs Dursley said. She seemed to think that be puffing out her chest and holding her breath she would appear refined. Draco thought she looked like she like she had been burnt significantly by the sun.

Dudley (Draco had learnt his name from Mrs Dursley) brought the food out of the kitchen. On the plate, Draco could see sixteen doughnuts, which upon closer inspection were actually sushi.

When Dudley put the platter on the table Draco reached over and grabbed two. Placing them on his plate, he began to eat. After it seemed that no one wanted any more sushi, Ms Dursley stood up and brought out muscle pasta.

Draco found the dish enjoyable. He could not help noticing the looks that Dudley was casting between the stairs and his parents. This intrigued Draco.

He stood up from the table, "If you will excuse me,"

The Dursley adults glanced at and then turned back to his parents while his father gave him a nod.

"Where is the loo?" Draco asked Dudley quietly.

Dudley seemed to think about this before he looked over at his parents, "Up the stairs, first door to the left," He whispered.

Draco straightened his outfit before walking out of the dining room. Once at the top of the stairs he could see the bathroom, although it wasn't where Dudley had said.

Slightly curious, Draco went towards the door on his left. A light was slipping from the gap in between the wall and the door. Draco would have attributed this to someone leaving the light on if he had not come before sundown.


	4. Chapter 4

_Sorry that this one is short (though to be perfectly honest it is almost 600 works) and late. I had a project for I-STEAM which was due but they've decided to push back the date for the third time. Originally it was meant to be last term (at least 4 weeks ago), then it was last week and now it's this week. I also had my first exam block which was for our_ _yearlys_. _I have decided to do an original #NaNoWriMo but I won't post it till the month ends as its still in script form. So, in saying that I should have more time this month to write the next chapter and maybe a bonus one as well._

* * *

Opening the door, Draco could see the person close their book harshly.

"Pardon, I was misinformed..." He trailed off when the figure turned around.

"You!" Potter exclaimed, falling off the bed.

"Very graceful, Potter," He taunted, leaning against the door frame, "Have you finally resorted to stealing from Muggles? How the mighty have fallen,"

"Shut up, Malfoy," He growled.

When Harry looked up, Malfoy visibly twitched. His glasses were bent and his left eye was swollen. Thick red lines creeped out of his shirt to wrapped around his neck.

"If you must know, I live here,"

Draco scoffed, "Yeah, right. Potter, Boy-who-li—" Draco would have continued talking if he hadn't heard Dudley come up the stairs.

Turning his head, he could see Dudley freeze when he saw him. Potter upon realising that Draco had stopped talking, looked out the door.

"Harry? Draco?" Dudley seemed bewildered with the current situation. He came to stand in between the two of them.

"Dud," Harry said, his eyes lighting up as he stepped closer to Dudley, "Do you—?"

Dudley grinned as he pulled a napkin wrapped bundle from his pocket. Draco seemed confused at why this was so important.

"You should go down, they sent me up to get you," Dudley said to Draco, while Harry placed the bundle on his bed.

Draco turned around and looked at the two of them before going downstairs.

"He's from school," Harry explained.

"I think we should tell him," Dudley said. He carefully picked Harry's glasses off his face and bent them back into shape.

"Why? Do you really think he would help?"

Dudley nodded his head, "I wouldn't tell him unless I know so,"

Harry sighed, "Alright then, tell him,"

Dudley hugged Harry before going downstairs.

Draco watched Dudley come down the stairs and take his seat. They sat in silence while they waited for Petunia to bring out the chocolate mousse. Looking over the table to his father he nodded, indicating that they would need to talk later.

The mouse was delicious, but Draco couldn't stop thinking about how Potter was upstairs. His injured eye and the red marks which looked a lot like welts.

The night went smoothly after that. Neither Draco or Dudley mentioned what happened upstairs, Mr Dursley got his business deal and a possible pay rise, although Narcissa seemed to be on the last reach of her patients.

Thankfully for her, it had gotten to the point that they were able to leave without offending anyone.

"You'll tell you dad, won't you?" Dudley asked.

The Malfoy's all got in the car. The driver drove them down the street and out of the neighbourhood. It was a while before Draco decided to break the silence.

"I think we should come unexpectedly once," Draco said as he sat down in the car.

"You know that we don't do that Draco," His mother said, "It means that they don't have time to get ready,"

By now his father was listening in to the conversation.


	5. Chapter 5

_Tada, this chapter is done. All my exams are finished, I finished learning our concert dance for acro, which we only started 4 weeks ago, I have my Duke of Ed hike on the 22nd/22rd, photo day on the 25th, got invited to a selective STEM day on the 27th, have written almost 13,000 for my NaNoWriMo, and am going to see Crimes of Grindelwald in a week. Who's slaying it this month? Me._

* * *

Merlin sat in the car, weak from yesterday. His mind had been so distracted thinking about the vision that he didn't look where he was going. He had bumped into a lady coming from his side.

The lady had had her black hair pinned in a half updo as her familiar grey-green eyes glared at him. She smirked as she spun around him, laughing as he floundered through his apology.

The taxi drove towards the property. As it approached the gate, Merlin could see the tall metal fences and lush green grass. After he could see the more intricate hills and castle, as well as the lake and mountains. The mid-day sun looked fantastic as it reflected off the lake.

The taxi pulled up at the gate, which he unlocked with his magic. The man drove into the gate and stopped. Merlin reached into his wallet and paid him.

Stepping out of the car, he bent backwards. His back cracked. It was a long drive, but he didn't want them here without him. He looked at him watched and saw that it was still early.

Walking down to the lake, he sat at its edge. He took off his shoes and placed his feet in the water. He thought about his past. About the times when he would sit doing this with Arthur. How for some reason or another, they would both come back soaking. He smiled as he began to relax.

The Nokia in his pocket rang. Sighing, Merlin picked up the call.

"I'm here, so you have to let us in," She said. Merlin chuckled as he picked up his shoes. It was typical of Eugen to say something so blunt. He walked to the gate enjoying the grass on his feet.

He opened the gate and gave her a one-armed hug as the group entered the property. Making no one saw, Merlin gave a key to Eugen. They went out onto the street and to anyone who didn't know them, it would seem as if they were just old friends.

"They all know about magic?"

"Yeah, no muggles, some squibs though," She confirmed.

"Remember," He said, "bring me in before you dig,"

"We'll remember,"

"Good," He said, disappearing.

Merlin fell as he landed in his room, his breath gone as he felt his magic return. He stumbled over to his bed just as he his vision swam.

A crow caws and flies at him as the veil rips. He sees as a man rises into the air, the ground rumbling beneath him. The lake below the man familiar _(Arthur_ , his mind says, _my king_ ). He watches the boy with the lightning scar get killed. As the castle ( _Hogwarts_ , she breaths, _I am called Hogwarts_ ), as Hogwarts greats the new children that have come to be taught by her inhabitants.

When he wakes, the lights are dark and the rain has started again.

 _Help him_ , she commanded, _change the future, correct the past_.

 _Of course_ , he agrees.

He feels her smile as she adds his name to the Hogwarts register. _Morgan Emerson_ , he smiles, _let's see what you can do_.


	6. Chapter 6

_"It's summer holidays," They say; "There's more time to write," They say. Yeah, right._

* * *

It had been almost a week since the Malfoy's had visited and Harry was beginning to lose hope that they Dudley had been able to tell him. The rain had gone, and Harry had been contemplating sending a letter to the Malfoys when his Uncle burst into the room.

"Useless, ungrateful, damned brat!" Vernon shouted, slamming the door against the wall. His face was a nasty shade of purple, and his eyes were bulging out, "We gave you leeway with freakishness, but you've gone too far with Antinous,"

Harry scrambled back from the door as quickly as he could. When his back hit the desk, he slowly stood and placed his hand on the table. Harry was looking for his wand, carefully moving school papers aside as he went so not to as draw attention.

"The only place you belong now is in the deepest pits of Hell," Vernon's words were accentuated by the spit that landed on Harry's face, "You repay us like this after we took you in from the kindness of our hearts?"

"Repay you?! I can't help it!" Harry argued back.

"We took care of you when we could have shipped you off,"

"You locked me in a cupboard until I was 11!"

Vernon's moustache twitched and the next thing Harry knew, he was sprawled across the floor. Vernon was on top of him, and Harry had his wand pointed at the bridge of his Uncle's bleeding nose.

"Go ahead," He taunted. His eyes looked at the tip of the wand, "I can't wait to be able to tell them all that you attacked me in my own home. Can't wait till I see them drag you out of here in chains!"

Harry looked Vernon in the eyes and said, " _Flipendo_ ," shooting him off Harry and across the room. When he landed, Harry ignored the heavy thud. He watched Vernon wheeze as he tried to lift himself up, casting, " _Stupefy_ ," as he himself stood.

Harry looked at Vernon and felt a primitive urge sweep him. To hurt, to take revenge. He lifted his wand once again and stalked towards his Uncle. He stepped on his hand as he crouched down. As he spoke, he dragged his hand along Vernon's face.

"I should kill you right here," He hissed, "But I won't. The ministry will come, and if they see you killed, they'll look for me. But they won't look for me, will they? Because when they come I'll be long gone and you'll tell them that I've been staying at a friend's. Unless you need more convincing?"

His magic flared, agreeing as Vernon passed out from fright. Harry tsked as he did so. He went to revive him but was hindered by Dudley's voice, "Harry?" He stood in the doorway and looked frantically between his passed-out father and Harry, "What's going on?"

Harry stood up, shaking his head to clear it. The urge to hurt Vernon didn't go away, but it was no longer his main priority. He looked under his bed and shuffled a few things around. He then pulled out a large backpack. He opened the draws and started to stuff some of his clothes into it.

"I need to leave," He said as he packed a few books. Next, he took a pouch of galleons and some food for Hedwig. He then closed the bag and placed it down. He let Hedwig out of her cage and handed it to Dudley, "If Malfoy comes back, give this to him and tell him to send me a letter,"

"How will he know where you are?" Dudley asked.

"He won't need to," Said Harry as he swung the bag onto his shoulder, "If they ask, I'm spending a few days at Antinous',"

"That didn't answer my question!" Dudley was becoming frantic.

"I have to leave, Duds. Your dad'll be fine, but the Ministry will be after me for underage magic," Harry said as he walked out the door, "They'll want to snap my wand! I can't let that happen. For it to work, I need them to think I wasn't here; That I wasn't able to do this,"

Upon reaching the bottom of the stairs Dudley grabbed Harry's wrist, "Will you come back?"

"I really don't know," Harry said, as he turned around, "It really depends,"

The two looked at each other. Dudley then pulled Harry in for a hug, "I'll miss you,"

It was at this point that an eagle swooped through the doorway and dropped what it was holding. As it flew back out, the door closed due to the wind (read: magic) and the letter activated. Plum lips emerged from the envelope and started talking.

" _Dear Mr Potter, the Ministry has received intelligence that at two twenty-three this afternoon, the Knockback Jinx and Stunning Spell were both performed at 4 Privet Drive, Surrey. The origin of the spells is unknown, but due to the location of casting, we are required to treat this as a violation of the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery. Due to this, you are, until informed otherwise, suspended from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_ ,"

The letter didn't stop, but Harry's thought that his heart did. In his emotional state, he tried to grab it, not wanting to hear the rest. He, however, was unable to catch it as it darted around, evading him as it finished speaking.

" _Aurors will come tomorrow to investigate. Their findings will be used at your trial, held on the twenty-second. It is to determine your involvement. The verdict will decide whether or not you continue to learn magic. If found guilty your wand will be snapped. Hoping you are well, Mafalda Hopkirk._ "

The envelope fell to the ground but Harry, lost in his thoughts as he was, didn't notice. Hogwarts was his home! If they took that away from him, where else would he have to go?

"Harry?" Dudley asked. His hand was raised in the air as if he wanted to touch Harry but was not sure what reaction he would get.

"I'm alright," Harry said, relaxing as he repeated the phrase, "I just-I just need to leave. Dudley, I'm sorry, but I don't think I'll be coming back before the trial,"

"Alright," He said, hand finally resting on the smaller teen's shoulder, "Promise that you'll try to keep in touch?"

"I promise," He said, smiling. Harry turned and once again opened the door, as he left he closed it behind him. He took a deep breath and looked at Dudley who watched Harry through the Window. He walked away from Privet Drive and out of his view.

From that moment, the Harry Potter that the Wizarding world knew, no longer existed.


	7. Chapter 7

_So... hi, I'm not dead. It's a little late (who am I kidding that's a fat lie). I just can't stop thinking about my art project which I just finished. Should I post a pic of my project or not? You know what, enough about me — onto the story. Also, thanks stokesy42 on Wattpad for reminding me to update._

* * *

In the time that it had taken for Harry to walk from to Privet Drive to a more secluded street, it had begun pour. He could hardly see his hand through the raindrops on his glasses, but he didn't need to see to know that no one else was out.

Damning the consequences, Harry held his wand out to summon the knight bus. His shirt was soaked, his hair plastered to his face and his shoes squelched with each step. The feeling of water between his toes made him want to recoil and hide away until the sun shone and the clouds were gone.

The bus pulled up on the road in front of Harry and Stan — voice muffled by the downpour — began introducing himself. Once he finished, he looked at Harry who had stepped in a puddle and promptly slipped on mud.

"What you doin' down there?" He asked, copying the words of their first interaction.

"I slipped," Harry said, getting up and walking into the bus, "And it wasn't on purpose!"

Stan just hummed and told Harry to come aboard. Harry, remembering what happened last time, quickly scrambled up the stairs and onto one of the beds.

"Where to?" Stan asked.

Harry hesitated. If he went to the Leaky cauldron someone was sure to find him and he would be sent back to his Uncle Vernon. He didn't have anywhere else he would go through, Antonio was travelling the Americas and wouldn't be back for another week.

"Somewhere where people won't care that I'm there,"

"You 'ear dat Ern?" Stan asked. The Knight Bus lurched forward, in what Harry could only assume was a reply and not too long after, zoomed off.

The bed that Harry was on, slid around the bus as it weaved around machine and creature alike. The bus took a sharp turn and skidded to a stop. Stan went to the front of the bus and Harry watched as a young-ish lady entered.

She began walking towards the bed next to him and he suddenly realised that he was sitting there still soaking.

"You thought about drying yourself?" She said as gave him a small smile.

"Kinda forgot I was wet," He said phrasing it like it was a question. The beds slid towards the back of the bus as it sped up again. The lady fell forward and placed a hand on his shoulder to balance herself, another lurch and she was back in her own bed. It was then that Harry noticed that his clothes and the sheets were no longer wet.

"Well that was very silly of you," The lady said. Her black hair was no longer falling out of a messily pinned half updo and Harry's eyes shot up to look at her. He then noticed that her eyes were slowly fading from gold to grey-green.

"You just..!" Harry hissed.

"I don't know what you're talking about," She said as she just placed her finger to her lips and winked. Harry could only stare at her.

His eyes didn't move from her until a tingle ran down his spine. He whipped his head around to look out of the window and the lady's gaze followed curiously. Harry saw nothing and looked back at the lady in time to see her as she flicked her fingers.

A small piece of paper appeared from a small fire and floated towards him. He grabbed it, looking down at it he could see a scramble of letters and numbers.

"If you ever need somewhere to hide, I'll be there."

The bus lurched to a stop and she got up to leave. Harry's forehead crinkled and he watched as she walked to the door.

"I-I don't understand," Harry called.

The lady turned to look at him, she scanned him with her eyes and then hummed as if something had just occurred to her. As she left the bus, a feminine voice in the back of Harry's mind whispered to him.

" _You will,_ " It said as he watched the lady walked into the dark night. The bus lurched and Harry shivered. He wrapped his arms around himself and when the bus stopped next, Stan came to Harry.

"Dis is your stop," Stan said. Harry stood up, he slung his backpack onto his shoulder and walked to the door. He was halfway down the stairs when he turned back to Stan.

"Where am I?" He asked.

"Somewhere people won' care 'hat you are 'ere," Stan said looked at him unimpressed. He walked back into the bus and it sped off.

"Thanks," Harry said sarcastically. He turned around and began walking down the alley looking at the shops looking for a street sign or something else that could help him find out where he was. In his search, he missed the arrows and signs saying 'Knockturn Alley'.


	8. Chapter 8

_So fun fact: I forgot to add the next few chapters here when I finished them so now you get 3 chapters today!_

* * *

After relentless rain, the weather had finally presented them with a clear day and everyone was making the most of the available time. Merlin sat outside whitling wands and watching as all the kids played. It had been a while since they had been able to spend time outside without getting drenched and the chance to move was enjoyed by all.

Most of the kids were just enjoying running around and jumping in the puddles while some of the adults were joining in on the large game of 44-Home that had begun. Merlin smiled contently, memories of playing with Will popping to mind even after all the years that had passed.

" _Mer_ -lin" Janne called, running—more like tripping—up to him she held her hands forward presenting him with a bunch of slobbery wands. "Puppy ate the wands!"

"And how many wands did puppy eat?" Merlin asked as he got up to clear the desk so that she could put them down. He put the wand he was currently working on down as well but made sure that it was separate, crup slobber was a devil to clean out of whittled wood.

"Ehhh... seven," Janne said after counting all the wands. Merlin's eyebrows raised when he saw that the engravings that he had done on each of the wands were either full of slobber or cracked.

"She only broke three!" She was quick to add when she saw his expression, "Rest are just yucky,"

"'Cause puppy ate them?"

"Yeah!" Janne shook her head violently. Merlin reached down and pulled her up into his arms before beginning to walk back into the house.

He still had to whittle Calien a wand to register with Ollivander and check to see if Steffan's was working properly. Already those two actions would have taken a while but now he had to deal with the aftermath of an overexcitable crup pup who's teething habits mean that he has to clean and check the specialised engravings on seven wands all before tomorrow.

Just thinking about tomorrow made him wish that it were here. His good mood came back full force when he thought about seeing the faces that would be on all the kids when they get their Hogwarts letters, after which they would set the following day aside to go to Diagon Alley for their school supplies.

As they were now at the house, Merlin placed Janne down. He turned to crouch down by her, "How 'bout you do me a favour, I'll go grab some special things to clean the wands with and then we can clean them together? Can you do that?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," She said, eyes darting around the house.

"Let's go then," He said, smiling while grabbing her hand. The two of them then walked through the house, Janne rambling in the way that a child would normally.

They reached the walk-in cupboard, which wasn't styled in a special or noticeable way, and Merlin grabbed the box from one of the shelves. He placed the small box under his arm and then held his hand out for Janne.

She grabbed it and they then went into the laundry where Merlin handed her an empty bucket while saying, "We'll fill it up outside,"

They then walked back out and did just that before walking back to the sport that they had left the wands. Merlin summoned a reasonably sized log for Janne to sit on and placed in next to his one and sat on his own, helping Janne to place the bucket of water between them.

Merlin placed the box in his lap as he took out two rags. Handing one of them to Janne he told her to"Be careful with this. Okay?"

"Okay," She said as Merlin reached to pick up a wand from the pile.

After demonstrating and made sure that she knew the correct way to hold it (facing away from anyone—preferably to the ground), he handed the wand to Janne. The raven-haired man then carefully dipped his rag in the bucket and began teaching her how to clean the wand. Once he was happy that she wouldn't do too much damage to the wands he instructed her to clean the rest of the pile while he worked on the small details.

The two of them sat next to each other on the logs, chatting happily as the pile of slobbery wands on the ground growing smaller and smaller. In his head, Merlin designed a new wand to replace one of the wands which had broken beyond repair.

By the time that they were distracted from their task, Janne had cleaned three of the six wands. The sound of excited chatter from the other kids and the repetitive nature of the words said made it easy to realise what was happening.

After hearing the cry of ' _owls, it's the Hogwarts owls_ ', Janne began to practically vibrate in her seat. She was of the many who loved it when all of the Hogwarts owls came with the letters. Although that was not to say that the adults were any less excited.

Merlin continued cleaning are re-engraving the wand he was working on for as long as possible before he placed it down. Standing from his seat he brushed imaginary dust off his pants before holding his hand out to Janne, "Why don't we go take a look at all the owls?"

"Go, go, go!" Said Janne as she jumped off her chair and grabbed his hand, hurriedly tried to drag him to join the others.

"I'm coming, 'I'm coming," Merlin said with a chuckle. The two of them walked to the middle of the large circle that had formed around the Owl tree. The chitter-chattering of excited children was contagious and Merlin could see the adults joining in and helping to collect everyone.

"Quiet!" Merlin commanded, having momentarily spelled his voice louder. The group settled down, now focusing their stares on Merlin who was holding his hand out in preparation for the letters, "Now, let's see who's letters have come! But remember, not all the letter's come at once. So if you don't get a letter, just wait until tomorrow,"

Once he was finished with his speech he enticed the first owl down. Trading the letter for an owl treat, he handed the owl to the children around him to pet and take care of. Reading the name on the front of the letter out loud, he handed it to the recipient. He did this for all of the owls in the tree. When Merlin was finished handing out all of the letters, he turned his attention back to the group.

"Anyone missing their Hogwarts letter?" He asked. No one said anything and Merlin took that to mean 'no', "You all know what that means right? Tomorrow we're all going to Diagon Alley!"

A sudden crash of thunder accompanied the statement causing a large scream from the children but and flutter hoot from the owls at the sudden movement. Merlin was quick to shoo everyone inside as he and the other adults made a run to clean up all the equipment and materials that the children had left lying around, by all methods possible including both magical or muggle.

Another crash of thunder and a lightning strike followed by the start of a heavy downpour had Merlin calling out, "Shit" as he shoved all of the wands and his whittling materials inside of the box with the rags and ran.


	9. Chapter 9

_Remember to check out my other works if you like this one!_

* * *

The next morning almost everyone was up before the sun had fully risen. Even in their sleepy state, the children had been eager to devour all of the food that had been prepared by the house-elves. The bacon and eggs were the first to go, following that was the fruit salad. The last things to go were the chocolate croissants which the house-elves purposely held back.

Once everyone had finished breakfast Merlin stacked the dishes to the side of the sink and cleaned the table. He then reset it and placed a new fruit bowl at three intervals on the table. While Merlin was doing this, everyone was getting ready to go to Diagon Alley for the day.

Merlin stood back from the table and checked that he had placed a plate, a glass, a knife and fork, and a serviette on top of each placemat. Happy that he did, Merlin then went downstairs to talk to the head house-elf, Winksy. He wanted to make sure that they knew about preparing something simple for Cailen's Birthday dinner.

When he arrived in the kitchens, Merlin was surrounded by chattering elves. They hugged his legs as they bounced up and down on the spot.

"Master Emrys!" They cried over and over again, "You is back!"

Merlin let out a chuckle as he answered, "Yes, I am,"

"Back to work," An old elf commanded them. He rested part of his weight on a thick crooked stick as he stood. The other house-elves parted and went back to work, this allowed him to stand in front of Merlin, "What can Winksy do for Master Emrys?"

Merlin led them to a chair while asking, "For dinner can we do a simple barbecue? Just some sausages, a salad, fresh bread rolls, those sorts of things,"

"Winksy is not liking this idea, Master Emrys. Not one bit, big birthday feast should be big!" His face was screwed up in displeasure, "The elvies like to make big feast,"

"I know Winksy, but Cailen asked for it. You know how he gets when he is under a spotlight,"

"If—" Winksy began but was interrupted by a patronus.

The cheetah entered the kitchen in a run. It flew past all the eavesdropping elves and hovered in front of Merlin.

It hovered for a moment before speaking, "Merlin, everyone's waiting in the travel room. Can you please hurry up, they're getting impatient,"

"I should really get going," Emrys said standing up after the patrons had disappeared.

"Winksy is not liking this, but if Master Emrys commands..."

"Thank you Winksy!" Merlin exclaimed. He then apparated upstairs, outside the travel room.

The travel room is a room full of doorways that lead to other places. Almost all of the doorways lead to other properties. A few lead to Merlin's other houses meaning that if they needed to talk to Merlin for one reason or another, the residents didn't have to spend time waiting for an owl to carry the message. It also meant that when, like yesterday, the weather was nice, everyone could meet up and play outside. Rather than having to stay at the house in the centre of London.

Walking into the room Merlin closed and locked the door behind him. He counted everyone that was there and stood in front of the floo.

"Listen up!" He said, his voice spelled louder, "We'll all meet at the Leaky Cauldron at half-past one for lunch. Anyone either not there or not with an adult, will not come next time. First through to third year students, will be in groups and accompanied by adults. The rest of you are should be responsible enough to go by yourself. Remember to buy as much as you can today and don't worry if something isn't available, we still have one more trip,"

At this point, Merlin held up a small jar that contained floo powder. With his voice still projecting across the room, he said, "Everyone should only grab a little bit and make sure to say 'Diagon Alley' clearly. If you have any doubt that you might get it wrong, just ask me or one of the other adults to help you. There is no shame in admitting that you can't do something. Now come on, line up. Single file. Oi, no pushing!"

Everyone scrambled to join the line while Merlin held the jar out to the first in line — a sixth year named Darien Wilson who was looking after the house's newest addition — a muggle-born first year whose parents had both died in a traffic accident earlier that year. He positioned her in the floo and after reassuring her, he threw the powder into the flames. He was quick to follow through.

After that, there were only a few more cases amongst the older years that needed help. Most of them were fourth year students or students who had joined after the beginning of last year. Merlin quickly looked around the room and once he was sure that everyone knew which groups they were shopping with he grabbed some powder.

Exiting the Floo, Merlin watched as the last of the upper years exited the shop that they had arrived in. He waited a few feet away from the Floo, arms position so that he was ready to catch anyone who fell out of the Floo.

The fire flared to life and Merlin watched as, one after another, the third years came tumbling out. Not many needed help but there were a few klutzes which tripped over nothing _after_ making it safely out of the way of the Floo. After all of them made it through their supervising adult or adults would quickly herd them out. The second years were similar in that most of them were fine.

Merlin, however, had to help steady almost all of the first years — who he would be travelling with like every year. The small shop was getting more crowded as everyone came through. It didn't matter though because once everyone was through Merlin reminded them to stay with the group and then everyone began shuffling out into the alleyway.

As he stepped out he saw that the shop fronts displayed a large selection of items ranging from books to obscure house pets to something that Merlin thought was barely legal. It didn't matter though, because the faces that the first years made never failed to bing Merlin joy. Their eyes lit up, and they began bouncing on the spot from wanting to run and see everything. Merlin knew that he would have so much fun today.

Oh, how he loved visiting Diagon Alley.


	10. Chapter 10

_I don't really like how this turned out but I like it less each time I try and change it so, here you go. I'm also thinking about getting a beta writer so if you are interested please pm me._

* * *

"Come along!" Merlin called as he led them to Flourish & Blotts.

The group of first years were chatting excitably and they only managed to slowly navigate through the crowd by walking along the shop fronts. The downside of this, however, was that almost every second shop someone would point something out and then the group would all be disappointed when they were told they were not going in the store.

As they walked up to Flourish & Blotts, Merlin saw books such as _Common Household Charms for Newly-Weds_ by Lena Schilcrote and _What You Need to Know About Muggles, Version 4: The Beginning of the Industrial Revolution to the End of World War 1_ by Hecate J. Robinson. These were all standard books that one would expect in a magical community but they were not the ones that caught his fancy.

What caught Merlin's eye was the book situated in the centre of the display — _The Castle of the Carpathians_ by Jules Verne. Personally, Merlin enjoyed the book and was proud to admit (to himself) that telling Jules about his travels around Europe had been a wonderful idea. The man had created wondrous stories that made their way into wizard culture without a complaint from any of the major pureblood families.

Merlin took out a pouch of gallons and turned to Anette as the door closed behind the first years who had just entered the shop.

"Do you think you can deal with the kids in here by yourself?" He said while sending a glance at the kids. They were all busy collecting their school books and inspecting the rows of shelves for an extra book to take home, "I have to run some errands but I don't know how long it will take me to deal with the goblins. Worst case scenario is that I meet you at Madam Malkin's,"

She tucked the pouch into her pocket and patted it, "As long as you catch us before we go into Ollivander's, I should be alright,"

"Thank you," Merlin breathed as his shoulders dropped, "I'll be back as soon as possible!"

He turned around began walking quickly through the crowd, careful not to bump into or trip over anyone. It was a short walk to Gringotts but when he arrived he received a small, inconspicuous nod from the goblins near the door as he entered.

Merlin continued into the bank where he could see several people. Along with the four or five goblins attending to the desk, there was also two goblins speaking to someone who looked as if he was no older than a fifth year.

As he walked past them he could not help but overhear their conversation.

"Unless you have your key, then you can not access the vault," Said the first goblin, showing off his large teeth as he snarled.

"I don't have a key because I was never given it!" Said the boy.

Merlin stopped and pretended to be looking around for someone but was just listening in. It was a bad habit it of his and it more often than not led to a lot of trouble (read: Gwaine).

"Then come back with your parents!" Said the second goblin, "They should have a key,"

The boy looked very angry, "My parents are dead, I have no idea who has my key and I don't have enough money to last until school starts again!"

Merlin felt sorry for the boy. He couldn't help but think that if the roles were reversed he would want someone to help him.

"If you do not have a key, then I suppose you are not getting any money from the vault,"

Decision made, Merlin turned around and approached the trio. The boy jumped as Merlin's his hand was placed on the boy's shoulder.

He gave his blinding smile — the one that made him look like an idiot — and said, "I sorry to interrupt but I couldn't help overhearing. I was just about to head down to my own vault and I wouldn't mind giving you some money if you needed it."

"I don't want your help," Said the boy as he crossed his arms. The two goblin's said nothing as they watched the exchange brewing between the mighty Emrys and the boy they had just been talking to.

"Not everyone who needs help wants it," Said Merlin bitterly, "And even if I was to give you some money, it would not be a hassle; I have more than enough to spare,"

"Are you sure?" Said the boy. He was looking at Merlin like he expected a catch.

"Absolutely!" Said Merlin, smile back on his face as he turned to the goblins, "That is if one of you has the time to spare?"

"I will go with you," Said the second goblin as he turned around, "If you will follow me,"

From there the trip to Gringotts ended up much like any other. The two of them sat in the cart and endured the ride down to the vault and when they got there the goblin opened it so that Merlin could take out a few bags of gallons — handing one to the boy — they all got back in the cart and rode back up.

As Merlin exited the cart he thanked the goblin who left to serve another customer. Then he began walking with the boy to the exit.

"You don't have to do this," the boy said while he looked down at his scruffy shoes, "It is not like we're ever going to see each other again,"

Merlin studies the boy and his lips quirked, "I wouldn't say never. Life is exciting; People often appear when you least expect it. And I think we will see each other again very soon,"

The boy looked at Merlin as if he was insane. Anyone would if a random person that they had just meet told them that. Merlin ignored the look he received as he turned around and began walking down the stairs, the boy still by his side.

"But until then, goodbye," He said, disappearing into the crowd as he finished.


	11. Chapter 11

_I'm sad to say that this will be my last chapter for some time. Don't worry I'm not dying, I will just be taking a hiatus. Also a big thanks to Natsuki D for giving me the idea for this chapter!_

* * *

A series of pops were heard as the Aurors apparated into Privet Drive. The leader, a recruit by the name of Dimitrius Demhov, was excited to prove himself. Several heads peered at them from over fences or through windows as he walked to the front door of four Privet Drive, and called, "Hutt, Kowalski. Stay close,"

The door was wrenched open by a horse-like woman.

"He's not here!" She said, already closing the door.

Demhov placed his foot in the frame, while Hutt pushed it open. There was little resistance from the lady as the three of them entered.

"We would like to ask you a few questions about an incident that occurred two days ago," Hutt began.

"Get out of my house right now!" The woman demanded, "You have no right to be here!"

"Listen to me," Kowalski said while raising her wand, "You will answer our questions or we will be forced to use some more... amoral force,"

The woman stared at the wand with hatred, "I don't care who you think you are, you will get out of my house this instant!"

"Last warning!" Growled, Kowalski.

"Get out!" Said the woman and the same time that Hutt commanded, "Kowalski. Calm down!"

"Answer. Our. Questions!"

"Mum, will you please just answer," Said a whale-like boy. He had appeared from nowhere but the woman was listening to him, so Demhov could not complain.

"Anything for you Duddy-kins," She said to the boy sweetly, turning to them impatiently, "Well? Get on with it! The sooner you're done the sooner I can get rid of you!"

Hutt addressed both of them, hoping to get as much information as possible, "Two days ago we received a report that two spells had been used the wizard that resides here. Is there any way that we could talk to him?"

"'S not possible," The boy said.

"Why?"

"Harry has been travelling with Antinous in the Americas. Has been for days now!"

"Now, as likely as I am to believe that, we received a report that magic was performed and you are clearly muggles so there is no way either of you performed it. So I will ask you once again, where is the boy?"

"You heard my precious Dudders! The boy is not here!" The woman shrieked opening the door, "Now leave!"

"Well, I'm not in the mood—" Kowalski began but a tug on her arm and a subtle gesture at the door stopped her.

In the doorway stood Lucius, Draco and Narcissa Malfoy. The three of them were dressed nicely but the youngest Malfoy had a bandage around his arm. He was also looking intently at the whale-like boy.

"Am I interrupting something?" Mr Malfoy asked stepping between the Aurors and the Dursleys.

"No, Sir. We were just leaving,"

"Don't let me stop you," He said while stepping out of the way.

The three Aurors exited the door and made there way down the path. They turned to face the still-open door, wherein they saw the horse-like lady engaged in a conversation with Mr Malfoy. Mrs Malfoy was looking straight at them and the two boys were disappearing up the stairs.

"Tell me that is suspicious?" Asked Demhov, "Conveniently turning up just as we began to question them?"

"Of course it suspicious!" Kowalski, "But unless the department thinks it needs further investigating we can't do anything about it,"

"Do you have to take all the fun away?" Hutt asked.

Kowalski gave him the look before she apparated away.

"Never can win with that one," He commented, following.

Demhov hesitated, he gave one last look at the muggle residence. The door was now closed and the window blinds had been drawn. He shook his head before leaving with a pop.


End file.
